18 May 2021

We all wanna do our bit. So, we op-shop, ride our bikes to work, give to charity, take part in Earth Day and some of us even dare to go vegan. But despite all these efforts, most of us won’t end up being Nobel prize winners.

I’m sure you’re aware that engineering has a tonne of career paths. But I bet you didn’t know the vast majority of those career paths are actually all about making the world a better place. If you see the world not as it is, but as it could be, a career in engineering might just be a perfect op for you!

Healthcare

We’re all aware that doctors, nurses and every healthcare professional working on the frontline are the real heroes of Australia. But biomedical engineers work within the healthcare industry too and are the unsung heroes you may not have even heard about! 

You might find them hypothesising and developing new treatments for illness, such as potential cancer cures or treatments for the blind. They might also be developing artificial organs, building machines to aid in diagnosis, providing technical support for medical technology or training clinicians in machine use. Either way, they’re doing us a huge solid!

The Environment

Engineering has a huge impact on how we look after the world we’re living in. Aside from green buildings created by civil engineers, there’s actually a specific field of engineering that’s perfect for every environment lover. From developing solutions for waste management to reducing air pollution, environmental engineering aims to protect human health and nature’s ecosystems and reduce the overall impact of humans on the environment.

Energy

While making a difference to the world (especially the growing effects of climate change) starts in your garage, kitchen, and at your dining room table, there is some good news for those who really wanna make a difference through their career. 

The need to create systems that make efficient use of energy is creating huge opportunities and a high demand for the budding energy engineers. Good news, right? Environmentalism is at the concern of everyone, so creating energy through developments like wind turbines is really helping to shape the world we live in.

Communication

If the coronavirus taught us anything (apart from the importance of hand sanny and how to make banana bread) it was the importance of communication. While we were all cooped up in our humble abodes, communication technologies are what kept us in touch with our friends and family all over the world and stopped us from going absolutely bonkers. They also enabled us to work from home (a godsend if you ask me) and learn online, online shop from all over the world and even watch copious amounts of Netflix. 

Well, we owe a huge gracias to the communication engineers, who continually research, design, develop and produce communications equipment and systems. From smoke signals and messenger pigeons to the telephone and email to Facetime - communication engineers are constantly evolving how we interact with each other.

Travel

While we aren’t driving flying cars just yet - steam engines, jet engines and aeroplanes are all down to hard work from engineers. Engineering has allowed for trades for business and allow us to literally travel to the other side of Earth in a measly 24 hours. If that isn’t exciting enough for you, how about space travel?

Engineers right now are working on ways to orbit around Earth but also get to the Moon and Mars. Elon Musk is even working on an aeronautical engineering project that could mean a long-distance trip such as London or Hong Kong could take as little as 35 minutes. Chills, literal chills.

 

At the heart of it, engineering is all about fixing problems in the modern world, and finding ways to make it a better place. Of course, it’s easier said than done, but if you’re interested in finding out a bit more you need to register for the Year13 Expo. We’re chatting with Engineers Australia so you can learn everything you need to know about kick-starting your engineering career.

You can watch the Engineering Your Future webinar here!